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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Today, Portuguese black metal cult Black Cilice premieres the new track "Prayer From Beyond" at heavily trafficked tastemakers Noisey - Music By Vice. The track hails from the band's forthcoming third album Mysteries, which Noisey is already calling the "Best Album of 2015," set for international release on January 30th, 2015 via Iron Bonehead Productions. Truly embodying the definition of "underground," Portugal's Black Cilice has lurked in the shadows the past five years - or perhaps even longer, as the one-man band's history is as mysterious as he is elusive - releasing a slew of demos and splits, all eventually culminating in two impossibly-rare albums. Dedicated to the ancient ways, Black Cilice has now teamed up with Iron Bonehead, who's long maintained the vinyl aesthetic, to release arguably the man's best record, Mysteries. A wave of rawness greets the wary listener, surging second-wave black metal to the bone, but underneath those layers of filth 'n' fatalism lies a melancholic majesty that's truly a splendor to behold. Some could even qualify Mysteries as "beautiful" - if that beauty was bespoiled for centuries in a cold, cobwebbed castle. Intractably black metal, we find here that "purism" need not be shorthand for a dearth of ideas: Black Cilice twists the anachronisms of classic black metal into ageless, endlessly spellbinding forms, each undulating wave lapping back against the other to utterly hypnotizing effect. Medieval madness awaits within these otherworldly Mysteries...and hear the first taste exclusively here, courtesy of Noisey - Music By Vice. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Black Cilice's Mysteries
1. To Become
2. Into Morbid Trance
3. The Truth
4. Ceremonial Energy
5. A Prayer from Beyond
6. From the Long Forgotten Past

Missouri-based post-metallers A Light Within have a new song streaming over at Ragnarok Reviews. “Between Shores” is an expansive musical journey, drawing as much from Junius' ambient-post metal-tendencies as the gloomier side of doom.

Terming A Light Within's style as the “thinking man's approach,” Ragnarok describes “Between Shores” as “a spiritual experience”, further elaborating that “with every replay, you end up finding something new underneath all the layers. Even while searching through these layers, one can't help but become lost within the song itself.”

At long last, one of the most highly anticipated debut albums ever arrives: Goat Semen's Ego Svm Satana, set for North American and South American release on February 24th via Hells Headbangers (Kvlt will handle the release for Europe and the UK). At ground zero of the rebirth and resurgence of South American black/death at the dawn of the new millennium, these Peruvian devils delivered one of the most classic demos ever with their self-titled 2002 demo, which has seen countless re-editions in the past decade as well as the band's legendry grow to enviable levels. But alas, a debut album has eluded the band, and the fervor 'n' anticipation for one have reached critical mass in the metal underground. Taking on almost mythical status (not unlike Sadistic Intent's long-promised debut LP), Goat Semen's Ego Svm Satana has been in the making for literally a decade. Granted, the band's been keeping busy in the underground since the 2002 demo, releasing a handful of splits with the likes of Nazxul, Krieg, Levifer, and Japan's Sabbat, among others, as well as two highly coveted live albums - but each step of the way, it's only been a few songs teasingly released a time.

But now, Ego Svm Satana explodes into being, fully formed as the ultimate Goat Semen statement. Like a veritable travelogue across the history of South American metal barbarity the past three decades, Ego Svm Satana surges and gnashes with all the hellfire and hatred the continent's black/death is world renowned for, and yet the quartet imbibe all these traditions and spit them out nastier than ever. Song dynamics and even lengths range a surprising amount of ground for metal so hideous and maniacal; likewise, the production finds the right balance between raw and well-rounded. Through it all, however, the feeling of imminent implosion lurks around every dark 'n' diseased corner, chaos nearly taking hold and never losing its grip, whipping the listener into either a full-on frenzy or a state of perpetual tension. Goat Semen laugh all the while, the masters taunting their servants, and Ego Svm Satana summarily the execution the latter's begging for. If you were ever seeking the perfect combination of INRI, Black Force Domain, Aquelarre, Sexual Carnage, and Wicca...look no further. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Goat Semen vocalist Neyra relates the story leading up to Ego Svm Satana: "It's been more than a decade it took us to compose, arrange, and make all the studio work for this long-anticipated album! Though it was more a fact of different things that caused this delay, such as the changes in lineup and the different personal activities that kept also the current lineup members busy. Not meaning that the band is not a priority, but hell, we are in Peru and have everything - mostly economic issues - against us! There were changes in the lineup, since Levifer was asked to leave. Eduardo 'Hellfucker' Sanchez - he was also guitarist on the first Black Angel demo, and died August 2011 - joined the band immediately (2006) and also contributed to the compositions that you will hear on ESS, but due to work schedules and his reduced time to rehearse, he was also asked to leave. Then Beleth took the six strings and Necro takes the bass (2010), so during this period, we could finally finish the composition and arrangements of the album.

"We recorded everything in June 2012, and the early mixes were made by Beleth at some studio where he was working, during the next year. Still during this period of a year, the mix work was turning slow due to the fact that they were being made literally at almost 4000 meters high on the highlands of Peru, and we could not get together enough time to properly make the mix patiently. At this point in early 2014, Arthur Rizk - who had just worked on the last Inquisition album - contacted the band and gently offered us to give us a hand with the studio work, as he could handle the mix and had a much better studio and conditions to make this in Philadelphia. It was actually hard work of a month and a half, making written descriptions for the changes and suggestions, to each of the samplers sent by Arthur, but finally the results turned out really great and far much better than expected. We contacted Chase (Horval, Hells Headbangers label head) again and started to deal about the release of Goat Semen’s debut album through Hells Headbangers, and also we had the proposal of Finland's Kvlt Records, who now will be responsible for the release of Ego Svm Satana in Finland, so now the album will be available from these two great labels for America and Europe."

"There have been many things that happened to us during this long period of time. We have played in different places in South America, and have shared the stage with such cult acts like Vulcano, Mystifier, and Sabbat (Japan). We released some split vinyls and CDs as well as an advance tape with some early mix of some album songs, which got licensed also in Asia, USA, and Europe. But finally, we have the long-anticipated Ego Svm Satana album released, and I think this piece of monumental barbarism keeps the same path we started since the rehearsal tapes we unleashed at the very beginning of this fucking millennium! Hail the Goat!"

Monday, December 29, 2014

Israeli thrashers Shredhead have debuted a new track from upcoming album Death is Righteous. No Clean Singing is offering the exclusive stream of "The Lie" here.

Shredhead are set to release Death is Righteous January 12, 2015 on Mighty Music. Mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (Suicide Silence, The Haunted, Aborted, Sick of It All), the new album redefines Shredhead's musical style, making it more mature, more melodic, more groovy, and much heavier than anything they've done. Throughout 41 intense minutes the band blasts away with brute force. Ranging from songs that are aggressive and fast to laid back and groovy, the music is enhanced by lyrics that hit close to home. The name of the album describes the concept, which is that death comes to us all in the end, just as it should. These 11 tracks map the way to self-destruction, in all of its aspects and forms in a life that needs to end. On Death is Righteous the now Berlin-based group brings what's true and honest with a relentless energy that resonates from the first note to the last word.

Check out the official lyric video for the title track at this location.

1. Devil's Race
2. LPBZ
3. The Lie
4. Last Words are Lost
5. Death is Righteous
6. Hallucinations
7. Walk with the Dead
8. Can't be Left Alive
9. Witness Hell
10. I Hate Myself
11. I Am

Today, fast-rising German black metal cult Dysangelium stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Thánatos Áskēsis - released internationally last week by W.T.C. Productions - at Decibel magazine's website. As prefaced by the critically acclaimed Leviaxxis demo earlier this year, the sound of Thánatos Áskēsis can rightfully be described as tyrannical: swift and strategic, roiling and rumbling, surging and striking, Dysangelium exude a startling confidence and authority beyond their young years as a band. The nine songs here righteously uphold the banner of orthodox black metal, but the Teutonic quintet work in a dazzling array of dynamics and nuance, especially in the unique, authoritative throat of vocalist Sektarist 0: it's literally the mouth of HELL, and his bandmates follow suit with incendiary performances and muscular execution. Even the song titles - among them, "Gateways to Necromancy," "I Am the Witness, I Am the Servant," and "Words Like Flames" - back up these claims. Soon enough, Dysangelium's Thánatos Áskēsis will be spoken of as a momentous record in the pantheon of pure-and-proud black metal. Hear the entire testament for yourself exclusively here, courtesy of North America's only monthly metal magazine, Decibel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Shortly after announcing the formation of their new band The 3rd Attempt earlier this year and their departure from Carpathian Forest, guitarists Tchort (Green Carnation, ex-Carphatian Forest, ex Emperor, ex Blood Red Throne) and BloodPervertor (ex-Carpathian Forest, Apostasy, ex Neongod) went on to announce that they were holding online auditions for the position of vocalist for the new project. As was to be expected when guitarists who had played with some of the biggest, and most iconic Norwegian bands advertised for a frontman, the resulting flood of applications was sizeable, so much so, in fact, that it has taken 4 months to listen to all the auditions and come to a decision.

Commenting on the process Tchort said "We were blown away, not only by the quantity of submissions we received, but also by the quality. Those sending in auditions were given the option of making them public or keeping them private, so what you saw posted on the band's Facebook page was only the tip of the iceberg of what we had to assess. It took us a long time because we felt that everyone who sent in their demos deserved all the attention we could give them, and we would like to thank all the extraordinarily talented musicians who took part. It was a difficult choice but in the end we opted for former Midnattsvrede and Necrocave vocalist Kaahrl Ødemark because his delivery and attitude were very much in keeping with what we had in mind for The 3rd Attempt. We have put together a demo of a track with Kaahrl on vocals as a way of introducing him to everyone. The track "The Beast Within", which also features Carpathian Forest's Daniel Vrangsinn on bass and Anders Kobro on drums, can be heard here.

Oslo-based Ødemark had this to say about auditioning: "The funny thing is that at first I wasn't even going to try because I honestly thought that it was just some sort of PR exercise, but in the end I decided to contact the band's manager and ask if it was real, and she confirmed that it was absolutely legit. So I picked up my microphone, my DAW and a pen and started working on those two demo-tracks 24/7 for a couple of days. I didn't really have any expectations but I just did my best and before I knew it I was talking to Tchort and BloodPervertor themselves, who asked to hear two full songs. When they told me I'd been chosen as The 3rd Attempt's frontman it was hard to sound professional with my brain was screaming 'Fucking hell, I'm going to be the vocalist for two musicians I've worshipped since I was a teenager'. Strangely this will be my third band, so you could also say that this will be my 3rd attempt too!"

Not surprisingly the decision taken by the Tchort and BloodPervertor to leave Carpathian Forest has raised a fair few questions, but Tchort is quick to put paid to any kind of negative speculation. "People tell me all the time how hard it is to establish a new band these days, and there is no doubt that this is true, but for me it's not about "making it", it's more about having the right environment for my creativity, and that "hunger" to tread a new path and push boundaries. To be honest I felt that I was no longer giving my best to Carpathian Forest. It had started to become routine, and things had stopped being inspiring, so that writing new material was becoming harder. There were probably various reasons involved, but in the end I felt it would be better for Carpathian Forest if they injected some new blood into their ranks, someone who had the energy and inspiration that I was beginning to lack. Someone who could push them further. I didn't want to be the one to hold them back because I couldn't give them 100% of myself.

"At the same time I had reached the point where I myself was in need that same inspiration and drive in order to regain my focus. When we held the online vocalist auditions, there were two contributions in particular that grabbed my attention and I found myself rewinding the songs and listening to them again and again. The talent and effort they demonstrated really got my creativity going and that was just what I was looking for. One thing both BloodPervertor and I were sure about was that we wanted to continue the interplay we had developed over the years in Carpathian Forest, so we made our choice and with a new vocalist onboard we are now hard at work on new material and have already started booking live shows, so we are definitely hitting the ground running. I think it's fair to say that the passion is slowly growing within us again and we are looking forward to meeting old and new fans again soon".

The 3rd Attempt's first live appearance will be on the 18th February at Blastfest in Bergen, Norway.

United States based metal band Phantasmal have made available their first ever recorded material in the form of a three song demo entitled "The Reaper's Forge". Since forming in 2012 Phantasmal have been working towards this their initial mission statement by mixing their unique takes on the glory of heavy metal, the aggression of thrash metal and the vitriol of black metal to create what the band calls "white hot black metal screaming straight for your neck".

"The Reaper's Forge" was released this past November 4th and is available now on the band's bandcamp page in digital format and on Cassette.

A Promotional Video for the title track from "The Reaper's Forge" can be seen here

Here is Cult of Fire! Black metal from the Czech Republic. In December they are going to launch Ctvrtá Symfonie Ohne. Translated to English that means The Fourth Symphony of Fire. Cult of Fire is Devilish on vocals, Infernal Vlad on strings and Tom Coroner on drums.

When you get Ctvrtá Symfonie Ohne and you push play to listen to it for the first time, there will be a storm coming straight at you. A storm of very nice black metal. Black metal which has also a little bit of influences from classical music. This masterpiece from this Czech band contains two songs with an total length of 13 minutes. But those minutes a worth it! When you listen to it, it could be that you only hear guitars and drums. But wait! Listen more specifically. Then you hear much other things, things that make this release a lot more worth a listen.

You like black metal? You like bands that are different and you won't hear very often? Go listen to Ctvrtá Symfonie Ohne from Cult of Fire. Definitely a masterpiece!

Founded in 2004 in Munich, Germany, here is Dissorted. Vocalist Mirco, bassist Dillon, drummer Martin and guitarists Florian and Sebastian play melodic thrash metal. Now they have released their first EP called I.

I contains five songs with an total length of 23 minutes. Pure fucking thrash metal is what you are going to hear. Fast, solid, nice sounding guitars, together with a fast rhythm section. While the vocals are very fitting for thrash metal, in my opinion they could have sounded a little bit more aggressive sometimes. Guitarsolo's is another thing you surely are going to hear. All together Dissorted definitely makes good music and they sure are on the good way.

Hailing from Italy, here is In Aevum Agere. This the band around multi talent Bruno Masulli. Line-up, besides Masulli, is Marcello D'Anna on guitars, Piersabato Gambino on bass and Fabio Parisi on drums. In Aevum Agere plays epic doom metal and they surely do a great job. Soon they release their newest EP Limbus Animae.

Limbus Animae has an total length of 22 minutes over 4 songs. Four songs of pure, true doom metal. It is heavy, it is rough, it is doom. Very good vocals are mixed with nice music. It sounds like everything fits perfectly, while it is still rough and heavy, just as doom used to be. It has down-tuned guitars, solo's and a very doomy voice. All the elements you want for a perfect doom band.

So, you are a doom metal fan? Go listen to Limbus Animae by In Aevum Agere, you will love it!

Extreme Progressive Art, that is what Deconstructing Sequence call themselves. Extreme it is, progressive? Definitely. This is some heavy music that is not for everybody, but if your metal can't be too extreme or too progressive, this is your new favorite band. Deconstructing Sequence is Morph on guitar, vocals, sequencing and synthesis, Tiberius on lead guitar, bass and vocals, and drummer J. Nerexo. And now they have released their newest EP Access Code.

Access Code contains two songs with an total length of 16 minutes. Sixteen minutes with a lot of really progressive ideas of very extreme music. But when that is your thing, you will love it, because they are doing it in a great way! Never thought there could be so much different parts of music in such a short time. Often, many different parts of music in a short time is not a good idea, but in this case, it is a very nice idea. These two songs will blow you away! I am curious to their future music if they want to make it more progressive and more extreme. Because I don't know if it could me more and better than they do on Access Code.